Water Saving Clog Resistant Toilet

ABSTRACT

A toilet to save water and reduce clogs. One embodiment uses two traps and a Pressure Assisted Device (PAD) that applies both negative and/or positive pressurized air between an upper trapway and middle trapway with a pressure connection tube with a means for allowing air to move to or from the top of the PAD to the upper arch between the upper and lower traps. A second embodiment includes a clog-resistant toilet that has no sudden transitions in the pipe to reduce the likelihood of clogging.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from a U.S. provisional application,Ser. No. 62/329,164, filed Apr. 28, 2016, by the same inventor, entitled“Water Saving Clog Resistant Toilet,” which is hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates to water efficient toilets and clog resistanttoilets.

Description of the Prior Art

Gravity fed flush toilets have been in use for over a century. The useof gravity powered suction devices in toilets goes back to U.S. Pat. No.260,232, which issued on Jun. 27, 1882, which talks about using twotraps and in combination with a flushing-valve” and means for “operatingthe same to flush the closet, and means for drawing air from the spacebetween the two traps. While this and multiple devices since then, suchas U.S. Pat. No. 380,854 by Boyle, which issued on Apr. 10, 1888, alsomention using a negative pressure device for suction. U.S. Pat. No.7,159,251, which issued on Jul. 22, 2004, explicitly mentions the watersavings used by applying positive pressure between the two traps.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,081 claims to be a “clog-free” toilet, usingmultiple blowers. And Chinese patent 201120051336, entitled “Blockingproof toilet,” uses a stirring device to mince the contents. But both ofthese prior art implementations use electricity and would be very loud.

In view of such prior art, an improved toilet is still needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the present invention provides a toilet that uses lesswater by having two traps and using a larger lower trapway and whichallows more air pressure to be applied between the area between the twotraps. This also provides the unexpected benefit that when a partialvacuum is applied, the water from the second trap and middle trapway canbe combined with the water from the first trap and upper trapway tocreate a stronger siphon, which increases the flushing power and saveswater. In this embodiment, more air can be injected before water goesover the lower arch which allows the “water spot,” which is defined asthe top of the pool of water in the bowl, to be larger and/or higher.

A typical problem occurs when there is a clog at or downstream of thepressure transfer pipe, and a plunger is used. When this occurs thewater and contents of the water will typically be forced through thepressure transfer pipe and will backup into the water tank. A secondembodiment of the invention provides a clog resistant toilet that doesnot use hairpin turns (by definition herein a hairpin turn is defined tobe where the outer circumference of a pipe is bent more than 250 degreeswithin a length of the pipe that is less than 1.5 times the outerdiameter of the pipe). A third embodiment of the invention provides atoilet with a reduced likelihood of a clog at, or downstream from thepressure transfer pipe. A fourth embodiment of the invention provides atoilet that prevents water from getting to the top of the pressuretransfer pipe, and also prevents the water and contents from gettinginto the water tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the invention aredescribed with reference to the following figures and drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a 1882 toilet with two traps, inaccordance with one embodiment of the prior art.

FIG. 2 illustrates a more modern implementation of a toilet with twotraps, in accordance with one embodiment of the prior art.

FIG. 3 illustrates another implementation of a toilet with two traps, inaccordance with one embodiment of the prior art.

FIG. 4 illustrates a typical current toilet with likely locations ofclogs, in accordance with one embodiment of the prior art.

FIG. 5 illustrates an infinity configuration for a water saving toiletwith the PAD and two traps in the resting state, in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a folded configuration in the resting state, inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention

FIG. 7 illustrates an infinity configuration in a flushing state, inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates the toilet when the siphon is starting to break, inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a clog resistant toilet with one trap, in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a clog resistant toilet with two traps, inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a toilet that is clog resistant after the pressuretransfer pipe, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention

FIG. 12 illustrates a valve that stops water in one direction in itsnormal state, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates a valve that stops water in one direction in itsstopped state, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 illustrates a toilet in its normal state with a valve on a lowerpipe, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates a toilet in its stopped state with a valve on theupper pipe, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 illustrates a water restriction valve with a solids preventer,in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates a normal state with the stopper not engaged, inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates a stopped state with the stopper engaged, inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, a bowl 10 iscoupled to the upper trap 20 which is coupled to the upper trapway 25(e.g., see FIG. 7 element 25) This is coupled to the upper arch 70,which is coupled to the middle trapway 75 and lower trap 30, which iscoupled to the lower trapway 35, then coupled to the lower arch 80,which is coupled to the lower pipe 85 and the wide section 90 which isfinally coupled to the exit pipe 100 The tank 40 has a pressure assisteddevice (PAD) 50 with a tube or other connecting shape 60 with a meansfor moving air into or from the top of the PAD to the upper arch 70supplying positively or negatively pressurized air to the upper arch 70and the upper trapway 25 and middle trapway 75 (e.g., see FIG. 7). Inthis embodiment of the invention, the lower trapway 35 in FIGS. 5 and 6is much larger than in prior art inventions (see element 35 in prior artFIGS. 1-3). In U.S. Pat. No. 260,232, illustrated in FIG. 1, the lowertrapway 35 volume is about one-seventh of the volume of the middletrapway 75. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,251, illustrated in FIG. 2, the lowertrapway 35 volume is about one-fifth the volume of the middle trapway75. In FIG. 3, the lower trapway 35 is about one-fourth the volume ofthe middle trapway 75. In the embodiments of the present inventionillustrated in FIG. 5 and FIG. 8, the water in the middle trapway 75 andlower trap 30 can be used to create a siphon, which is not possible withthe previous prior art toilets, since once the water from the lowertrapway 35 has been moved to the middle trapway 75, any further vacuumwill be sucking-up only air, not water. The larger lower trapway 35(e.g., see FIG. 7) saves more water in operation compared to prior arttoilets. In one embodiment a single flush uses 0.66 gallons of watercompared to 0.8 gallons of water used by a single flush of the mostwater efficient prior art toilets, and 1.28 gallons of water used by asingle flush for most other prior art toilets.

To illustrate the use of one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 5illustrates the resting state of the toilet, where the water in thelower trap 35 is used to hold the pressure in the middle trapway 75.This pressure is counterbalanced by the pressure in the PAD 50 and thewater in the toilet bowl 10 and upper trap 20. When the pressure isincreased in the PAD 50, due to the tank 40 filling with water, thiswill push up the water in the middle trapway 75 and lower trapway 35,and also push on the upper trapway 25 (see FIG. 6) pushing up the waterinto the bowl enabling a larger water spot. The volume of the waterdisplaced in the middle trapway 75 and lower trapway 35 will beequivalent to the water volume increase in the bowl 10

When the toilet is flushed and the water lever in the tank 40 islowered, this will create a partial vacuum in the PAD 50, which in turncreates a partial vacuum in the pressure transfer pipe 60 which in turncreates a partial vacuum in the upper arch 70, bringing the water fromthe lower trapway 35 into the middle trapway 75, while the water fromthe upper trapway 25 is also sucked towards the upper trap 70 When thewater from the two sides combine (see FIG. 7) in the upper arch 70, thewater create a strong siphon. The siphon will lower the water level inthe bowl 10 until the water is lowered to the level of the wide section90 of the pipe or until the siphon is broken as shown in FIG. 8, wherethe water in the tank 40 is at a lower level 52 than the bottom of thePAD 50. At this point, air will be sucked into the upper arch 70 and thewater in the upper trapway 25 (see FIG. 7) will lower until it is evenwith the water in the bowl. When the water rises to the bottom of thePAD 50 it will start pressurizing the air, pushing on the water in theupper trapway 25 which will raise the water level in the bowl 10. Notethat when the toilet tank 40 is filling up and reaches the bottom of thePAD 50 (see FIG. 8), the pressure will be close to the outside airpressure; but as the water level rises in the tank 40 and PAD 50, theair pressure inside the PAD 50 will quickly rise as the air startspushing on the water in the upper trapway 25 and middle trapway 75

FIG. 4 illustrates a typical prior art toilet having multiple locationsfor clogging. If the bottom of the bowl 300 has a sudden transitionbetween the bowl and the trap, then a relatively long object may getstuck, versus having a gradual transition.

FIG. 9 illustrates a clog resistant toilet with one trap 20 shows agradual transition 450 from the bowl 10 to the trap 20 Suddentransitions 310, 320, and 330 can cause cavitation and unpredictableflows, which are common causes of clogs. There is an inner diameter 435and an outer diameter 425 and has no hairpin turns in any of the pipes,wherein a hairpin turn is defined to be where the outer circumference ofa pipe is bent more than 250 degrees within a length of the pipe that isless than 1.5 times the outer diameter of the pipe. Using gradualchanges 400 and 410 to will greatly reduce the likelihood of clogging.FIG. 10 illustrates a clog resistant toilet with two traps 20 and 30shows a gradual transition from the bowl 10 to the first trap 20.Similarly the toilet with two traps also has gradual transitions 400,420 and 430 with no hairpin turns.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment where the upper trapway 25 and theupper arch 1 upstream of the pressure transfer pipe 70 has a smallercross sectional area compared to the upper arch 70 after the pressuretransfer pipe 2 and the sections downstream from the pressure transferpipes 75, 30 and 80. For example, if the pipe 1 is cylindrical, then thediameter of the pipe section 1 would be smaller than the diameter ofpipe section 2 and the section downstream. The pipe is also curved morein the upper trapway 3 and the upper arch 70 before the pressuretransfer pipe 1 with a curvature shown by pipe 3 than the downstreampipes 75, 30 and 80 show with the curvature shown by 4 and 5. If thereis a clog after the pressure transfer pipe 5, then if the toilet isplunged the effluent can go into the tank 40, which is highlyundesirable. These enhancements decrease the likelihood of a cloghappening after or downstream of the upstream of the pressure transferpipe 50.

The pressure transfer pipe can also have a valve that restricts the flowof the water. One example is a water restriction valve 22 (e.g., seeFIGS. 12-15) which allows air to go through but not water. In thisembodiment there is a sphere or other object, hereafter know as theblocking object 13, that fits inside the water restriction valve 22. Theblocking object 13 allows air to flow from the PAD 50 to the upper arch70 by having guide wires 12 that prevent the blocking object 13 fromlowering and restricting the flow of air from the PAD 50 to the upperarch 70. The blocking object 13 is heavy enough that when PAD 50 createsa partial vacuum the blocking object 13 will not move to the top of thewater restriction valve 22 and restrict the airflow from the upper archto the PAD 50. When there is a clog and the toilet is plunged, waterwill be forced from the bowl 10 through the lower trap 20 past the uppertrapway 25. If the clog is after the pressure transfer pipe 60 thenwater and the effluent will enter the pressure transfer pipe 60 When thewater reaches the blocking object 13 in the valve 60, it will float ontop of the water and form a seal with the upper section of the valve 14.

FIG. 13 illustrates valve 14, stopping the flow of the water through thepipe 60. FIG. 12 illustrates the valve in the normal state at the top ofthe pressure transfer pipe. FIG. 15 illustrates the toilet when there isa clog 24 after the pressure transfer pipe 60. This illustrates thevalve in the blocking state when the toilet is being plunged. FIG. 14illustrates the valve in the lower section of the pressure transferpipe, while FIG. 15 illustrates the valve in the upper section of thepressure transfer pipe. A small rod 100 parallel to the flow of the aircan also be installed at the bottom of the valve 13.

The water restriction valve 22 can be placed anywhere in the pressuretransfer tube 60 to only allow water to flow in one direction. FIG. 14illustrates the water restriction valve 22 in the normal state and FIG.13 illustrates the water restriction valve 22 in the water blockingstate, with the water restriction valve 22 towards the top of thepressure transfer pipe 60. FIG. 15 illustrates the water restrictionvalve 12 in the water blocking state with the water restriction valvenear the bottom of the pressure transfer valve. FIG. 16 illustrates asmall rod parallel 100 to the flow of the air which will help preventsolids such as toilet paper and other solid effluent from entering thewater restriction valve 12 before liquids have a chance to fill thechamber of the water restriction valve 12 and allowing the float 13 toseal off the flow of the water.

An alternative means of stopping the flow of the water is by temporarilysealing the pressure transfer pipe 60 so that neither air nor water canmove through the pipe. One example is illustrated in FIG. 17 and FIG.18. FIG. 17 illustrates the pressure transfer pipe 60 in the normalstate, with the stopper 54 not engaged with the pressure transfer pipeand allowing air (and water) to flow unrestricted through the pressuretransfer pipe 60. FIG. 18 illustrates the stopper 54 engaged withpressure transfer pipe 60 and not allowing the flow of air or waterthrough the pressure transfer pipe 60 The switch for the stopper 55could just be manually held down while a plunger (not shown) is beingused. In another embodiment, the stopper 55 has a toggle like a clickpen where there is an up state and a down state.

The exemplary embodiments described herein are for purposes ofillustration and not intended to be limiting. Therefore, those skilledin the art will recognize that other embodiments could be practicedwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the claims set forthbelow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A toilet comprising: a tank to store water orother liquid, a pressure assist device (PAD) inside the tank, a bowlcoupled to the tank, wherein the bowl holds water or other liquid andany contents in the liquid, an upper trap, which is coupled to the bowl,an upper trapway, which is coupled to the upper trap. an upper arch,which is coupled to the upper trapway, a middle trapway, which iscoupled to the upper arch, a lower trap, which is coupled to the middletrapway, a lower trapway, which is coupled to the lower trap, whereinthe volume of the lower trapway is between one-third to one and a halftimes the volume of the middle trapway, a tube or other connectingshape, which extends from the location between the upper and lower trapsto the PAD, that can move air into or from the top of the PAD to theupper arch to supply positively or negatively pressurized air to theupper arch and the lower trapway and middle trapway, a lower arch, whichis coupled to the lower trapway, a lower pipe, which is coupled to thelower arch, a wide section, which is coupled to the lower pipe, and anexit pipe, which is coupled to the wide section.
 2. The toilet of claim1 wherein the PAD is non-rectilinear so that the pressure profile forthe pressure pipe is not proportional to the level of the water in thetank, wherein the volume of the lower trapway is between one-third toone and a half time the volume of the middle trapway.
 3. The toilet ofclaim 1 wherein the high part of the lower arch is higher than thebottom of the upper arch.
 4. The toilet of claim 1 wherein there is awide section after the lower arch, but before the exit pipe, wherein thewide section is larger than the lower trapway to provide a means tobreak the siphon at the wide section to provide a means to minimizewater loss.
 5. The toilet of claim 1 wherein low part of the lower trapis higher than the low part of the upper trap.
 6. The toilet of claim 1wherein the air pressure within the PAD and the pressure pipe will bereduced when the toilet is flushed, creating a partial vacuum that willsuck air and possibly water in the upper arch to an extent that thewater that was in the lower trap will combine with the water that was inthe upper trap to create a siphon that extends from the bowl to thelower trap.
 7. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the section from the uppertrap, the upper arch the lower trap, lower arch and exit pipesubstantially forms a sideways FIG. 8 and the upper trapway and lowertrapway are in different planes.
 8. The toilet of claim 1 wherein theupper trap and the upper arch form a first plane and the lower trap andthe lower arch form a second plane, and the first plane and the secondplane are within one pipe diameter in separation.
 9. A toiletcomprising: a tank to store water or other liquid, a bowl coupled to thetank, wherein the bowl holds water or other liquid and any contents inthe liquid, one or more traps, in which one trap is coupled to the bowl,one or more pipes, wherein each pipe has an inner circumference and aninner diameter and an outer circumference and an outer diameter, inwhich one pipe is coupled to the bowl, wherein there are no hairpinturns in the one or more pipes, wherein a hairpin turn is defined to bewhere the outer circumference of a pipe is bent more than 250 degreeswithin a length of the pipe that is less than 1.5 times the outerdiameter of the pipe, and the toilet is therefore more resistant toclogging compared to prior art toilets.
 10. The toilet of claim 9wherein there are no sudden transitions in any of the toilet pipes thatcan cause cavitation, other than the exit pipe.
 11. The toilet of claim9 wherein the transition from the bowl to the trap has a transitionwithout any turns to allow a longer item to flow from the bowl into thetrap, instead of the longer items getting stuck at the bottom of thebowl.
 12. A toilet comprising: a tank to store water or other liquid, apressure assist device (PAD) inside the tank, a bowl coupled to thetank, wherein the bowl holds water or other liquid and any contents inthe liquid, an upper trap, which is coupled to the bowl, an uppertrapway, which is coupled to the upper trap. an upper arch, which iscoupled to the upper trapway, a middle trapway, which is coupled to theupper arch, a lower trap, which is coupled to the middle trapway, alower trapway, which is coupled to the lower trap, a tube or otherconnecting shape, which extends from the location between the upper andlower traps to the PAD, that can move air into or from the top of thePAD to the upper arch to supply positively or negatively pressurized airto the upper arch and the lower trapway and middle trapway, wherein thePAD has a pressure transfer pipe where there is less resistance to thewater and the contents in the water after the pressure transfer pipecompared to before the pressure transfer pipe, so that any clogs aremore likely to occur before the pressure transfer pipe than after thepressure transfer pipe, a lower arch, which is coupled to the lowertrapway, a lower pipe, which is coupled to the lower arch, a widesection, which is coupled to the lower pipe, and an exit pipe, which iscoupled to the wide section.
 13. The toilet of claim 12 wherein theupper trapway has a cross sectional area and each of one or more pipesafter the pressure transfer pipe have a cross sectional area, and eachpipe after the pressure transfer pipe has a larger cross sectional areathan the cross sectional area of the upper trapway.
 14. The toilet ofclaim 12 wherein one or more pipes have a radius of curvature and afterthe pressure transfer pipe the one or more pipes have a larger radius ofcurvature than the radius of curvature of the one or more pipes beforethe pressure transfer pipe.
 15. A toilet comprising: a tank to storewater or other liquid, a pressure assist device (PAD) inside the tank, abowl coupled to the tank, wherein the bowl holds water or other liquidand any contents in the liquid, an upper trap, which is coupled to thebowl, an upper trapway, which is coupled to the upper trap. an upperarch, which is coupled to the upper trapway, a middle trapway, which iscoupled to the upper arch, a lower trap, which is coupled to the middletrapway, a lower trapway, which is coupled to the lower trap, a tube orother connecting shape, which extends from the location between theupper and lower traps to the PAD, that can move air into or from the topof the PAD to the upper arch to supply positively or negativelypressurized air to the upper arch and the lower trapway and middletrapway, wherein the PAD has a pressure transfer pipe wherein if thereis a clog after the pressure transfer pipe, the water will be preventedfrom going into the tank, a lower arch, which is coupled to the lowertrapway, a lower pipe, which is coupled to the lower arch, a widesection, which is coupled to the lower pipe, and an exit pipe, which iscoupled to the wide section.
 16. The toilet of claim 15 wherein thewater is prevented from going into the tank by means of a valve thatallows air to flow through the pipe but water is prevented from goinginto the tank.
 17. The toilet of claim 16 wherein the valve consists ofa float that is heavier than air, but lighter than water, and includes achamber that is shaped so that when water enters the chamber, the floatwill go to the top and seal of the chamber to prevent water exiting thetop of the valve.
 18. The toilet of claim 16 wherein there is a straightbar at the bottom of the valve, and the straight bar is parallel to thedirection of the flow of air to lessen the likelihood of solids enteringthe valve.
 19. The toilet of claim 16 wherein a stopper is inside thePAD, and the stopper is applied to the top of the pipe between the tankand the upper archway to restrict the flow of air and water and itscontents to prevent the water and its contents from going into the tank.20. The toilet of claim 15 wherein the air pressure within the PAD andthe pressure pipe will be reduced when the toilet is flushed, creating apartial vacuum that will suck air and possibly water in the upper archto an extent that the water that was in the lower trap will combine withthe water that was in the upper trap to create a siphon that extendsfrom the bowl to the lower trap.